Acupuncture is becoming increasingly recognized in the western world for the treatment of certain medical problems and conditions. The traditional meaning of the word "acupuncture" refers to the introduction of needles into body tissue at certain precise points. These points will be referred to herein as "cutinous points." It has been discovered that the traditional needles may be replaced by electrical stimulation to the cutinous points.
In acupuncture work it is particularly important to determine the precise locations of the cutinous points on a patient's body. Apparatuses intended to serve this purpose exist, but these have been relatively large and cumbersome.
It is desirable to provide by way of such a device a simple and compact hand-held unit, that can both locate the cutinous points and provide electrical treatment. The device should ideally be completely enclosed within a case, with one or both of the electrical terminals being integrated into the case. The locate and treatment functions may be provided by the use of a device that operates on a pulse current, wherein the pulsation of the current both provides treatment and operates a signal device that signals when the device is positioned over a cutinous point. The locate function of such a device can take advantage of the fact that the resistivity of the skin at a cutinous point drops substantially. The use of pulse current is particulary adapted to a device that operates with discrete on/off pulses, rather than voltage-modulated pulses, as is found in prior art devices.